Trust Exercises
by The Fiercesomest Dragon Ever
Summary: Weiss is less than thrilled at the prospect of being dragged blindfolded through the woods, but her class participation grade is on the line, so... Now a two-shot! Second chapter: a blindfold and a rickety, ten-foot-tall platform seem to figure into Weiss's immediate future. WeissxRuby friendship.
1. Trust walk

"This is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard of."

"Aw, c'mon, Weiss. It's a trust exercise. Y'know. Team bonding!" Ruby threw an arm around her shoulder. Weiss bristled at the contact, but didn't push her away.

"I prefer to do my 'bonding' with my eyes open," she crossed her arms, watching the other teams prepare to take part in the exercise as well. She supposed they should be lucky Professor Port wasn't making them fight Grimm blindfolded, but walking around the forest that way—even the extra safe cordoned-off-for-weekend-picnics section of the forest—still seemed stupid. "How do I know you won't walk me into a tree or something?"

"Thaaaaat's kind of the point," Ruby hopped back a couple inches, pointing to her with both hands, "you have to _trust_ me."

"I already trust you," Weiss planted her hands on her hips. "I hardly worried about losing limbs last combat class at all." A reproving look from Ruby. "What?"

"You worry about losing limbs?"

"Well, your Crimson Rose _is_ really sharp, and _sometimes_ you get a little too close for comfort. It's not like strolling around the woods is going to help with that."

"Weiss, we're _partners_. How are you ever going to trust me during a fight if you can't trust me to not run you into anything in a park?" The younger girl motioned to their classmates. "Look, everyone else has already started, and they're doing fine."

Weiss glanced over in time to see blindfolded Juane, led by Pyrrha, get his feet tangled up in a fallen branch and faceplant. "… Yeah. That's not really helping your case."

"Okay, so I'll go first," Ruby held out her hand for the blindfold. Weiss regarded her a moment and then gave it to her.

"I guess we _could_ get marks off for not participating," she relented. "But I still don't see the point."

"Well _I_ don't see anything!" Ruby announced cheerfully, having tied the blindfold over her eyes. "Gimme a hand?"

"Fine," Weiss took her hand and started to lead her around in a circle.

"Whoa, this feels funny," Ruby said, stumbling a little like she was off balance. "Where are we going?"

"We're supposed to go somewhere?"

"Well, I mean, yeah. Wherever you want." Ruby said, "Or… we could go in circles the whole time."

"Hey, I'm the one in the lead right now," Weiss reminded her, looking around for a suitable place to take her partner. She settled for marching straight to the other side of the park. Halfway there, Ruby moved up to walk beside her, swinging her arm companionably. "… you know you could blunder into a thorn bush or something that way."

"I guess so," Ruby grinned. Weiss rolled her eyes and pulled her more to the side to avoid the trunk of a large oak tree.

A couple minutes later, Professor Port blew a whistle, signaling that it was time to switch roles. Weiss sighed. This was such a waste of time.

"It's so bright!" Ruby squinted as she removed the blindfold.

"Hurry up and adjust," Weiss grumbled, not relishing the idea of the blind leading the blind. Ruby helped her get the blindfold tied right.

"There we go," the younger girl said. "Feel okay?"

"I can still kind of see out the bottom if I look down far enough," Weiss said, angling her head to see the ground.

"Yeah, I kind of could too. You just have to close your eyes."

"Did you?"

"Close my eyes? Yes! You think I cheated on a trust game?"

"Oh, of course not," Weiss shut her eyes under the blindfold, resigning herself to whatever was about to happen. It felt strange to be standing out in the open without being able to see. Ruby took her hand and started to lead her… somewhere. Somewhere going entirely too fast for her comfort. She pulled back.

"Weiss? You okay?" Ruby asked.

"I'm fine. You're just going too fast," Weiss huffed, trying to get her bearings. A few more steps with her partner and she was completely lost. "Where are we?"

"In the woods." Came Ruby's happy response.

"How specific." Weiss growled, resisting the urge to peek under the edge of the blindfold.

"Branch. Duck."

"What?" She pulled up short when Ruby's other hand touched her shoulder, then her head, "Hey—"

"Duck," Ruby guided her head down, under the branch. "There's a big rock here, so step up, okay?

"Ruby, where are we going?" Weiss fumbled with her free hand, trying to feel where the rock was. Ruby hauled her up onto the uneven stone before her fingertips could find it.

"Just around," Several steps up later, she said, "Get ready to jump down."

"Jump down?" Weiss balked, trying to remember any rocks as big as the one it felt like they'd climbed. "Are you crazy? I can't _see_!"

"That's why I'm warning you to get ready," Ruby squeezed her hand. "Now don't move."

Weiss stopped, feeling Ruby hop down off the rock. At least it didn't seem to be all that high.

"Okay," Ruby said. "Come forward just a little bit. There. You're at the edge. It's clear if you just jump a little."

"How much is a little?" Weiss scowled under her blindfold, "Honestly, if I sprain something…"

"You won't!"

"How do _you_ know that?"

"Because _I'm_ the leader," Ruby said, "I'll make sure you're fine."

Weiss bit back another round of arguments. As much as she didn't want to make a jump in the dark, she didn't relish the idea of the exercise ending with her stuck on what was probably a modestly-sized rock. "… give me your other hand too."

"Here," Ruby reached up with her free hand so she held both of Weiss's. The smaller girl jumped, landing awkwardly—but not horribly—and stumbling into her partner.

Weiss straightened, pulling her other hand free. "That felt like a long drop."

"It was like two feet," Ruby informed her.

"…let's just say it was four."

"Right. Ready to go?"

"I suppose."

They walked in comfortable silence, leaves crunching under their shoes. After the rock ordeal, a simple stroll wasn't so bad.

Ruby broke her brief reverie with another idea. "Hey, let's run."

"You're kidding." Weiss found herself being hauled forward at an alarming speed. It was all she could do to keep her feet under her. "Ruby!"

"C'mon, Weiss, you're doing great!"

"Slow down!" Weiss cried, but Ruby kept going. After the first, breathless seconds, Weiss took her bearings from her partner and matched her pace, sprinting through the woods blind. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. The rush was similar to what she experienced when she used her glyphs to propel herself through the air, but doing it without sight added another level to it altogether. Her partner's hand was her only guidance, and suddenly, she was okay with that. Ruby could be an idiot, but she wasn't going to lead her into a tree, or let her step in a hole, or anything. Well… probably not anyway. Unless she was having too much fun to be paying attention.

That ounce of doubt caused Wiess to lose her stride, tripping over herself and falling, losing her grip on Ruby's hand in the process.

She pushed herself up on her elbows, spitting leaves and blinking in the light. Her blindfold hung around her neck. Ruby sat up a couple feet away, rubbing her head.

"Ow…" she laughed a little nervously, untangling herself from her red cape, "Sorry about that."

Weiss considered being mad. Instead, she got up, brushing leaves from her skirt and hair, "Nonsense. It was my fault," she said, "I… guess I'm a little less coordinated when I can't see."

Ruby winced, "Yeah, I should have thought about that before the running thing."

"That's not what I meant," Weiss snapped, "I meant… I…" I should have followed your lead? Shouldn't have doubted you? "… you were fine. And it was even kind of fun."

"Really?"

"Please. I'm seriously regretting not dragging you through the woods at top speed now."

"Oh, man, now I want a turn! Can we switch one more time so I can try?"

Professor Port hadn't blown the whistle to signal the end of class, so Weiss shrugged and tied the blindfold back over Ruby's eyes. This time, after being led around herself, Weiss felt the trust involved when Ruby took her hand and waited for her to lead. Was this what was involved when she and Ruby worked together in combat practice? Was this why Ruby wasn't constantly checking over her shoulder to make sure Weiss wasn't getting too close with her rapier? What she had pegged as obliviousness may in fact have fallen into another category altogether: trust. Whether it was misplaced or not remained to be seen.

Not that Weiss was going to stop looking over her shoulder every two seconds when Ruby was wielding that death scythe nearby for the foreseeable future either. Still. As she turned to look for a suitable running avenue through the trees, she thought to herself, _maybe this trust exercise thing wasn't _entirely_ pointless._

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**A/N: Let me know if you have any ideas for what else I can put Weiss through. I'm really enjoying writing her character. **_  
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	2. Trust fall

**A/N: To my reviewer, who suggested that this would be funny. Not sure if it actually is, but it sure was a _great_ way to procrastinate!  
**

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"Ten feet!" Yang exclaimed, kicking her feet up on the desk, "Can you believe it? This class is awesome!"

"Yang, your skirt," Blake said without looking up from her notes. She propped her chin on one hand.

"Weiss, are you feeling okay?" Ruby rubbed the back of her partner's shoulder. The girl didn't raise her head from the desk.

"Of all the classes at all the schools in all of Remnant," she gripped her pencil so hard it almost snapped in half, "_this_ is the class that I most despise."

"At least it'll be quick this time, right?" Ruby sweat-dropped. "I mean, you just have to walk up some stairs…"

"… blindfolded. And then jump off a ten foot platform."

Weiss could _hear_ Blake's smirk. "I hate you all."

"Not our fault you drew the short straw, short stuff," Yang grinned and threw an arm across Ruby's shoulder, "At least you've got all of us catching you, right? I mean, Ruby's strong for a pipsqueak, buuuuut she's kind of a klutz."

"Hey! It's not like I would drop my partner," Ruby huffed, crossing her arms, "And I already apologized to Professor Goodwitch about that tea set in her office. Though in my defense, it was _way_ too close to the edge of her desk. Definitely an accident waiting to happen."

Weiss let out a frustrated groan. "Just kill me now."

The rules were simple. The teams left the classroom one at a time. One member was blindfolded and taken to the platform out in the courtyard for another of Professor Port's trust exercises. Team RWBY was last.

When their turn came, Weiss stumbled between Ruby and Yang. "I don't see what the point of the blindfold is."

"Ha, I _see_ what you did there," Yang's pace didn't match her sister's, and Weiss found herself dragged forward awkwardly at intervals.

"I _mean_ it's not like it makes me any more or less eager to jump off a ten-foot platform."

"Maybe it's like a warm-up?" Ruby suggested on her left. "To get back into the whole trust thing."

"Maybe it's like when they stand prisoners before a firing squad." Again, the smirk was audible.  
"Oh, Blake, _please_ go on. You're making me feel _so _much better," Weiss gritted her teeth as Ruby started swinging her arm for fun. "Are we almost there?"

"Ah, Team RWBY," Professor Port's voice boomed out in the hall, "I see you've already designated your 'catchers' and 'faller'," he chortled. Weiss adopted her most rigid, untouchable-heiress posture—a poor substitute for the veritable storm of scalding insults she kept in special reserve for people who found humor at her expense, but she couldn't snap at a professor. "You three come here for a second while I explain the procedure. Miss Schnee, if you'll wait here a moment."

"Of course," Weiss ground out through clenched teeth. The others drew away and spoke in low tones while she stood in what felt like a vast emptiness. It was a hallway, of course, and arched ceilings or not, it wasn't _huge_. But not being able to see made the echoes seem more pronounced.

Over… wherever the others had gone… behind some of the pillars near the door? Anyway, somewhere, Yang laughed. Must have been an interesting procedure. Weiss tried to listen, but they were already finished and coming back over to her. "What was so funny?"

"What? You're curious? Could it be that…" Yang clapped a hand roughly on her shoulder, causing her to grimace. "… you hate being _kept in the dark_?"

Ruby and Blake both groaned. "Sis, that was bad. Worse than usual."

"Come, come, team, let's get the exercise underway," Professor Port opened the doors to the courtyard.

"Wow, it looks pretty high. Are you sure that's not twenty feet?" This from Blake. "Well, see you at the bottom."

"Yep! Just try not to come down head-first," Yang chirped.

Weiss felt herself tensing up as she waited to be led. Had Blake said _twenty_ feet? She hadn't signed up for this. Maybe it wasn't too late to transfer classes. It would look bad on her transcripts, but she could probably make it up. In the middle of these thoughts, she found herself being suddenly swept off her feet. "What are you—?!"

Ruby's giggle was loud in her ears, "Weiss, you're so _light_."

"Ruby Rose, put me down right now!" Weiss grabbed one fistful of her partner's hair and another of her red cloak, jerking hard. She was _not_ going to take a bridal-style carry lying down.

"Ow! Wait. Hang on—I'm just going to jump us up to the platform."

"Don't you _dare_—" the rest of her air left her in a decidedly un-heiress-like squeak as her partner leapt off the front stairs with a bound. She let go of her cloak and threw that arm around Ruby's neck instead. Before she could catch her breath, they'd landed on a wooden platform. She could feel the sun on her skin, feel the warm air, and see nothing at all.

Weiss recovered from her stunned silence as her boots contacted wood. "You—! When did I say you could carry me around like a—a—"

"Weiss," Ruby gasped, "Could you let go of my hair? And neck? You're choking me."

"As if you didn't deserve it!" Weiss snarled, using the threat as an excuse to cling harder. She wasn't quite certain of her footing, after all, and she didn't want to fall off this ridiculous platform before she was supposed to. Honestly, she could feel it shift under their weight. Was it even stable? She could feel the breeze tugging at her hair and skirt. "Are the other teams watching?"

"Um. Yes," Ruby choked out.

"…let's just hurry up and get this over with."

Ruby coughed when Weiss loosened her hold, "Right. Okay. Over here's the edge," she backed her up a couple of inches, "Feel it?"

"I'm blind, not numb."

"… so, you _do_ feel it?"

Weiss would have pinched the bridge of her nose if she weren't so busy holding on to her partner for balance. "… yes, Ruby. That meant yes."

"Oh. Well, then, put your hands like this," she took Weiss's hands and crossed them at the wrist, "intertwine your fingers, and…"

Weiss scowled under her blindfold, her back to the edge. This was awful. And with all the other teams in Professor Port's class watching. Ruby had to guide her hands into the correct position. "... what is the point of this weird pretzel grip?"

"It's to help you keep from flailing and breaking our noses or something when we catch you," Ruby explained. Weiss dropped her hands back to her sides. "Hey…"

The wind blew and she lost her bearings. She lurched forward, catching at Ruby's cape. "Look on the bright side," she hissed, "your broken nose will probably heal faster than my pride."

"Weeeiiisss…"

"Fine," Weiss allowed her to help her step back into position. "I suppose it _would_ get tiresome listening to you all whining."

"Okay. So you're ready?" Ruby took her hands from Weiss's shoulders, "Just take a deep breath and lean back."

Weiss dropped her hands again, latching onto Ruby's sleeve before she could lose her balance, "Wait a second. Aren't you helping with this?"

"With what?"

"With catching me! Not that I'm not _thrilled_ to have Blake and Yang. They _are_ down there, aren't they?"

"Of course they are!"

Weiss heard a kind of snickering sound from behind and a little below her. "What was that?"

"Probably just the wood creaking," Ruby guided her back to her position, "This isn't the sturdiest platform ever, you know. So, are you ready?"

"Really, you're helping, right?"

Her partner kept her hands on her shoulders, steadying her. "I can use my semblance."

"You're fast enough to get down before I fall?"

"Weiss, _yes_. You'll be fine."

Weiss was still doubtful. The platform shifted under her feet. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me," Ruby urged, "Trust us. We're you're team, okay?"

"… okay."

"Are you ready?"

Weiss took a deep breath. "Alright."

Ruby let go, and Weiss stood on her own, her heels at the edge of the platform. Several long seconds passed.

"You can do it." Ruby encouraged.

Weiss growled back, "I _know._" Walking around in the woods had been one thing- she could always stop, or pull Ruby back if she was going to fast. This... once she tipped back over that edge, there wasn't a lot she could do.

"Just lean back," her partner coached her.

"You'd better not drop me. Or miss."

"Don't even worry about it." She clapped, "How about we count down? On three?"

That sounded easier than just psyching herself up to it. Weiss nodded, "On three."

"One."

Ten feet. Or twenty. Weiss tried not to imagine what falling would feel like. What if she pitched too far and turned over in the air or something?

"Two."

Her palms were slick with sweat. _Just lean back_. Right. She inched back a little, so her heels were over the edge.

"_Three_."

She tucked her chin and leaned backwards into thin air. For a few, breathless instants, she was falling. Then—before the soles of her boots had fallen past the edge of the platform even—two pairs of strong arms caught her.

A big cheer broke out around the courtyard and Yang pulled the blindfold off her face. "_Finally_," she said, grinning ear to ear, "We thought you'd never get down."

"I—what—how did—" Weiss took in the scene: the other teams were seated in the grass on either side of a platform that wasn't more than three feet high. _Three feet._ On top of which sat Ruby, laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. Weiss colored, her heart still racing. "You—you tricked me!"

"My apologies, Miss Schnee," Professor Port was there as well, standing off to the side of the platform. He rapped it with his fist, "I'm afraid we just don't have the funds to put together real, ten-foot platforms. Back in my day, of course…" he began to ramble.

Ruby slid off the platform and threw her arms around her, "You did great!"

"Next time actually _catch_ me, you dunce," she didn't pull away, "Or was your semblance not fast enough?"

Ruby looked up, stricken. Before she could say anything, Blake stepped in, "Don't be upset at her. We're the ones who told her not to help."

"Yeah, seriously. There's not enough of you to need all three of us," Yang rolled her eyes, and brushed her golden hair back over her shoulder, "I probably could've handled you all on my own."

Professor Port dismissed the class, and everyone went their separate ways.

"You know I would've helped anyway if it had been ten feet," Ruby said, attaching herself to Weiss's side, "There's no way I would've let you drop that far and just waited. This was such a short drop, though, and Blake and Yang really did have everything under control, and—"

"Fine. Ruby, it's fine," Weiss said, crossing her arms while they headed down the hall to the cafeteria. "Really."

"So you're not mad at me?" The younger girl trailed at her elbow.

Ruby's silver eyes looking up at her like that were so… so… ugh. Weiss _couldn't_ be mad at her. She sighed. "Look, it's not your fault that I made a fool of myself. I just... should've trusted you more."

"Oh," Ruby said, taking in Weiss's admission. "Well... I still think you did great."

Weiss hmphed.

Rubby added, "I hear Juane cried."

That earned her a sound of derision, and a little smile. Weiss tossed her hair, "Well, at least it's over now. Next time, if there _is _a next time, I claim a spot on the team that can see."

Her partner brightened, "Sure thing."

"Also, don't carry me. _Especially _not bridal style. Honestly. In front of everyone, too. Absolutely mortifying."

"Ahaha… yeah…" Ruby rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, and the two continued on their way to lunch.

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**A/N: Now I actually have to go do work. Leave a review!**


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